Nanoscale electrical conductivity of the purple membrane monolayer

Nanoscale electron transport through the purple membrane monolayer, a two-dimensional crystal lattice of the transmembrane protein bacteriorhodopsin, is studied by conductive atomic force microscopy. We demonstrate that the purple membrane exhibits nonresonant tunneling transport, with two character...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Casuso, Ignacio|||0000-0001-7192-0136, Fumagalli, Laura, Samitier, J., Padrós, Esteve, Reggiani, L., Akimov, V., Gomila, Gabriel|||0000-0002-1949-1757
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2007
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:118211
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/118211
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.76.041919
Access Level:acceso abierto
Descripción
Sumario:Nanoscale electron transport through the purple membrane monolayer, a two-dimensional crystal lattice of the transmembrane protein bacteriorhodopsin, is studied by conductive atomic force microscopy. We demonstrate that the purple membrane exhibits nonresonant tunneling transport, with two characteristic tunneling regimes depending on the applied voltage (direct and Fowler-Nordheim). Our results show that the purple membrane can carry significant current density at the nanometer scale, several orders of magnitude larger than previously estimated by macroscale measurements.